Flashback
I was sitting cross-legged on the grass, my dolls scattered around me and my best friend beside me, both of us lost in our tiny plastic world. The sun was warm, the sky smelled like summer, and my favorite doll—the one my dad gave me—had the faint scent of his cologne on it. He'd handed it to me a week before he left, promising he would come back for me. I still believed he would.
I grinned at her painted smile, brushing her tangled hair with my tiny fingers.
"Hi."
The voice startled me. I looked up to see a skinny boy standing there, his knees scraped, his smile shy.
"Can I play with you?"
I frowned, clutching my doll protectively. "But you're a boy." I hid my face, giggling.
"I know," he said simply, sitting cross-legged beside me. "I have a car, and your doll can ride it."
He placed a small red toy car next to my doll, and I couldn't help but grin. He looked so proud of it, like it was the coolest thing in the world.
That's when I noticed he didn't have a lunch box. Everyone did—except him. My smile faded.
"Where's your lunch?" I asked softly.
"I don't have one." His voice dropped, eyes fixed on the grass. There was a flicker of shame in them, and something in my chest twisted.
"Here." I opened my lunch box and pushed my half sandwich and candy toward him. "You can have it. I'm not hungry anyway."
I was lying. I was starving—but he looked like he needed it more.
He stared at me for a moment, then smiled. "I'm Justin."
His smile was wide and genuine as he took the food.
"Winter." I mumbled while brushing my doll's hair again.
"Like the snow?" he asked, tilting his head. I nodded, my cheeks heating up. "It's pretty," he said softly, before finishing the sandwich. Then, out of nowhere, he leaned forward and kissed my cheek. "I like you."
I felt my stomach twist and my cheeks burn. I didn't know it then, but that was the first time someone ever told me that.
~||~
"Hello? Bryce to Winter?"
The sound of Bryce's voice snapped me back to reality. I blinked, his hand waving in front of my face.
"Fuck off." I slapped it away, annoyed.
"Somebody's in a mood," he muttered, sitting back in his chair. I poked at my food with the plastic fork, not wanting to talk. "What's up?" he tried again.
"Nothing."
He sighed. "Look, just because Justin left doesn't mean you have to be a bitch."
I froze, glaring at him. The name alone was enough to make something inside me sting. He realized what he'd said too late.
"I'm sorry," he added quickly. "He was your boyfriend and all..."
I dropped my fork and huffed, trying to look indifferent. "I really don't care."
But I did.
My eyes drifted across the cafeteria, landing on Clay, sitting alone. Without another word, I got up. "I gotta go."
